Sash-weight.



E. A. HEMMINGS.

SASH WEIGHT.

APPLICATION FILEDOCT. 16. 1915.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

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'WTU d i led PATENT @lE.

EDWIN A. HEMIVIINGS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SASH-WEIGHT.

Application filed October 16, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN A. HEMMINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sash-Weights, of which the following is a full, true, and complete specification.

The object of the invention is to provide a sectional sash-weight embodying substantial improvements in construction and operation over existing structures. These weights must be manufactured very cheaply, and accordingly are generally made from old cans and the poorest kind of iron and are left in the form of rough castings, conditions which have to be taken into account in the design of the interengaging formations by means of which the sections are jointed together. Furthermore, the weights should be easy to handle and put in place, should hang central, be safe locking, and comprise as much mass as possible within a given space. The present invention complies with all these requirements. Its coupling parts are of stout construction, involve the minimum loss of weight at the joints, and are adapted to be engaged easily and with the simplest movements, so that the workman can work quickly and without mistakes. Furthermore, the connections are such as to hold the sections securely against unintended separation at all times, and particularly when in the act of being drawn from a horizontal support upward into the sash opening, under which condition prior constructions have been especially likely to come apart. These novel features of construction and combinations of parts whereby these ends are attained will now be briefly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of two sectional sash-weights in the position assumed within the window sash, part of one of the sections being broken away; Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the cramping of the sections at less than 90 degrees; Fig. 3 is a similar view, illustrating the separation of the sections; and Fig. 4. is a side elevation of Fig. l.

' The sections, it will be understood, are all I of identical construction. One end of each has a hook formation, designated generally 1, and the other end a'complementary eye Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 313., tars.

Serial No. 56,168.

formation 2 providing a crosseiece 3 to engage the hook formation of another section. The weights are designed more especially to be strung with the eye at the top and the hook at the bottom, and the positions of the parts as hereinafter specified will refer to this relation, but it will be understood that the same construction may be hung the other end up, without affecting its identity.

The hook l, which is preferably narrower than the body of the weight section and centrally disposed, projects forward from a wide back or downward extension 4: of the body and has an upturned forward portion 5. Behind this upturned end, the inner face of which is substantially perpendicular at the top, is a pronounced, deeply recessed pocket 6, constituting part of a central, preferably rounded opening 7, the upper front quarter of which is accessible through an entrance 8 leading from the front of the section. The upper wall of this entrance is the underside of the body of the weight and its lower wall is formed by the flat end surface of the hook, the two walls being preferably substantially parallel and slightly inclined, so that the passage slopes a little downward from its inner to its outer end.

The eye 2 comprises side members 9, which may be continuous with the sides of the body, and the inner surfaces of which are parallel with each other and spaced sufficiently to permit the hook to work freely between them. The cross-piece 3 connecting the side members attheir upper ends is so constructed. as to be capable of passing through the entrance 8 when the sections are in a certain obtuse-angular relation, and in other relations to present a dimension wider than the entrance, so that the parts after being assembled are securely locked. Preferably the cross-piece is rounded on top, at the back and partly on its underside and is slabbed off obliquely in front, as shown at 10. With this construction the sections are assembled easily and without friction by moving the eye member of the joint inward relatively to the hook member, with the sections at approximately the obtuse angle shown in Fig. 3, and thereupon straightening to the position of Fig. 1. The pocket 6 in rear of the front portion of the hook is made deeper than would be sufficient to perpocket, in addition to turning its larger diameter behind the front portion 5 of the hook.

In the normal hanging position, therefore, and within a certain range of positions as the sections are swung out of alinement, the joint is doubly locked. One locking is due to the fact that. the cross-piece 3 must be raised bodily in order to pass outward over the top of the front portion of the hook, and this movement is barred by thelower surfaces of the hook and its'back 4 contacting with the opposed shoulder 11 and the bottom of the eye on the section below. Theother locking is the result of the Widest dimension of the cross-piece being at an angle to the entrance, so that even if the eye could be lifted it could not slip out unless the sections were also turned to the critical angle for assembling and dis-assembling,

This double locking is of value in view of the necessarily rough character of the castings and the inferlor quality of the metal,

for if by faulty pouring or minor breakage one element of the locking action fails the other may still be operative.

When the sections are turned to the critical angle they are no longer positively locked, but accidental separation is guarded against because the cross-piece 3 is still pocketed behind the front portion of the hook, requiring the eye end of the lower section to be lifted before it can be disengaged.

One of the particular advantages of the construction is manifestedin the operation of stringing the weights up into the sash. Referring to Fig.2 let it be assumed that I the upper section there illustrated is substantially vertical within the sash and that the lower section is resting on the sill. In ordinary sash-weights the sections may and frequently do assume a r1ght-angular rela- 7 tion under this condition, and at this angle readily pull apart, so that the lower section is left upon the sill and must be rejoined to its mate. In the present construction the sections are caused to cramp before coming to a right angle, and to this end the front sides 12 of the several eyes 2 are inclined downwardly and forwardly and bear such relation to the undersides 13 of the bodies of the sections that'at each joint these parts contact before the sections reach 90 and 'when they have been swung somewhat past the critical angle. When this occurs the joint binds or cramps, still retained behind the .front portion 5 of the hook and bearing forcibly against the back of the same and the rear lower portion of the pocket.

' dered the more secure by a notch 14 formed the joint is absolutely in the said inner surface of the hook near its upper'end. In this position, therefore,

locked against separation, to eflect which it is necessary to raise cramping at an obtuse angle is favored,

tically with the cross-piece 3 This holding may be ren-f the cross-piece upward, at the same time changing the angle between the sections.

In the operation of stringing the weights,

cause the mass of both the sections, namely the one within the sash and the one canted on the sill, tend to produce the action whenever the upward pull on the string is relaxed. In the cramped condition the forward portion 5 of the hook extends upward above the central portion of the cross-piece 3, that is to say, the hook is sufficiently high and the pocket suiiiciently deep to produce the result specified. A further advantage of the construction which causes the sections to cramp before reaching a right angle is that the members are also made with the minimum amount of lost weight at the joints. Thus the angles which are unoccupied by metal, included between the shoulders 12 and the surfaces 13, are comparatively small.

The rear sides 15 of the eyes are set back from the rear sides of the sections, so as to accommodate the wide backs 4 of the hooks. These contacting surfaces keep the sections in alinement and cause them to hang central, and in addition the said wide backs reinforce the hooks at what would be their weakest points and render them pracproof against breakage under rough handling. The setting back of the rear sides of the eyes also permits the topmost section to be drawn close up to the pulley without throwing it out of its vertical position. Furthermore, it will be observed that the construction described results in the side members 9 of the eyes having an approximately triangular form, with their widest portions at the junction with the body, thereby securing great strength for these members.

In furtherance of the object of obtaining as much weight as possible for each section, the front portion of the bottom of the eye is curved upward as indicated at 16; and the lower front portion of the hook is correspondingly curved beneath, so as to work frictionlessly in the eye and with as little waste space as may be.

In the underside of the cross-piece 3 a notch 17 is formed, which serves in the topmost section to receive the hanging cord and to keep the same from slipping in either direction.

I have selected for illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be understood that numerous changes may be made without departing from essentials.

What I claim as new is:

l. A sash-weight comprising a number of similar sections, each section having at one end a forwardly extending hook formation with an upturned front portion and a pronounced pocket in rear of said front portion, and at the other end a complementary formation having a cross-piece adapted to be entered over the front portion of the hook of an adjoining section into the pocket thereof, the sections being further provided adjacent their end formations with surfaces positioned so as to abut and cause the joint to cramp before reaching 90, in which position the cross-piece binds in rear of the front portion of the hook, which then extends above the central part of the crosspiece, and cannot become disengaged without being lifted upward from the pocket.

2. A sash-weight section, having at one end a forwardly projecting hook with a pronounced pocket in the interior thereof and an entrance to the upper part of said pocket, and at the other end an eye having a cross-piece narrower in one direction than the entrance and wider than the same in another direction, the maximum and minimum transverse dimensions of said crosspiece being oblique to the axis of the section, whereby when the section is assembled with others its cross-piece is locked against removal from the engaging pocket except at a certain angular relation of the sections other than a right angle and then requires to be lifted as a preliminary to being withdrawn outward through the entrance, the front portion of the hook then extending upward above the central part of the crosspiece.

3. A sash-weight, comprising sections, each having at one end a forwardly projecting hook with a pronounced pocket in the interior thereof and an entrance to the upper part of the said pocket, and at the other end an eye having a cross-piece narrower in one direction than the entrance and wider than the same in another direction, its widest and narrowest dimensions being oblique to the axis of the section, whereby when the sections are assembled each cross piece is locked against removal from the complementary hook pocket except at a certain obtuse angular relation of the sections and then requires to be lifted in order to pass out of the entrance, the sections being further provided with surfaces positioned so as to abut and cause the joint to cramp before reaching 90, in which position the cross-piece binds in the pocket, the front portion of the hook then extending above the central part of the cross-piece.

at. A sash-weight comprising sections each having at one end a forwardly extending hook formation with an upturned front portion, an opening in rear of the same and an entrance leading to the upper part of said opening from the front of the section, each section being provided at the other end with a complementary formation having a cross-piece adapted to pass through the entrance of an adjoining section into the opening thereof, the sections being further provided with surfaces adapted to abut and cause the joints to cramp before reaching 90, and the said front portions of the hook formations having notches in their inner sides for more secure holding, the said front portions extending above the central parts of the engaging cross-pieces in the cramped position of the sections.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN A. HEMMINGS.

Witnesses: v JOHN T. CROWLEY, K. L. GRANT.

I 0 Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patcnta, Washington, D. C. 

